‘The Adventures of Horatio Mowzl’ was a wonderful read. The reader is immediately swept up into an exciting and unique adventure. Horatio Mowzl finds himself pulled from his own world, where he is a real mouse, to the human world where he is a toy mouse. We join Mowzl and his new- found human friends on their mission to discover the truth of how Mowzl ended up in the human world and to figure out how he will return.
This is a very imaginative story. There are some weird and wonderful things to discover right from the beginning such as mysterious talking seaweed, the art of ‘purling’, and the idea of having multiple worlds existing alongside one another. Another great thing about the story is how the wildlife is brought to life and how the impact of human actions on the health of the planet is explored from the perspective of wildlife itself which I think helps to bring the issue a lot closer to home.
I think readers will also enjoy discovering more about Mowzl’s life before he ended up in the human world along with his human friends and will get ample laughs from trying to master wild talk. All in all, a book that captures the imagination but also has a great message.
Words by Grace Nyaboko
Grace Nyaboko is a 22 year old lover of all things bookish. You can catch her snapping her latest reads on her Instagram page (@teaandpapercuts) or posting her poetry on her blog.
The Adventures of Horatio Mowlz is an illustrated children’s story by Paul Thornycroft that reflects on the impacts human activity is having on the environment, whilst taking readers on an adventure they will not forget. It’s available to buy here.
